Suicide car bomb kills eight police in Yemen’s south

Police in Yemen yesterday said a suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden car outside a police station in the south, killing eight police officers and wounding 17.

The officials said the attack happened in Mukalla, the capital of Hadramawt Province.

They said the suicide bomber drove his car very close to the police station and argued with officers before the blast.

The officials said the bomber, believed to be an al-Qaeda militant, tried to prolong his argument to draw more police officers to him to kill as many as possible.

The blast collapsed part of the building where other police officers were having lunch.

In other developments, government forces killed seven alleged al-Qaeda militants in fighting on Saturday, the Yemeni Ministry of Defense said.

The seven militants were killed in clashes while Yemeni forces were combing the southern cities of Shabwa and Abyan, where the fighting has been centered.

Also on Saturday, Shabwa Governor Ahmed Ali Bahag said al-Qaeda militants kidnapped five civilians from local tribes that they were formerly allied with in retaliation for cooperating with the Yemeni army.

The governor asked for the help of the Red Cross in finding the abducted citizens and in relieving the refugees who have fled their homes in the city of Meyfaa, amid the ongoing clashes.

He said Yemeni authorities are now repairing infrastructure and buildings damaged in the fight.

Meanwhile, Yemeni Minister of Defense Mohammed Nasser Ahmed escaped an assassination attempt on Friday as he was on his way to check up on security forces in the city of Mahfad, a sprawling al-Qaeda base recaptured by the army.

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